Musical instruments



April 23, 1963 KlNYA YAMAMOTO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Feb. 16, 1959 United States Patent Ofiice 3,086,420 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 3,086,420 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Kinya Yamamoto, 1924 Koganei, Koganei-cho, Kitatama-gun, Tokyo, Japan Filed Feb. 16, 1959, Ser. No. 793,543 Claims priority, application Japan Mar. 8, 1958 4 Claims. (Cl. 84-195) This invention relates to an improvement of a musical instrument such as cello, violin, harpsichord, piano or the like, and especially relates to resonance elements formed or fitted on a sound post or sound board of the musical instrument.

The main object of the present invention is to provide musical instruments suitable for a fine musical performance, especially as to the tone colour.

Another object of the invention is to provide musical instruments at low cost which are as good as expensive instruments.

The musical instrument of the invention is provided with a bar-shaped resonance element (or elements) comprising a plurality of land and grooves. The resonance element may be formed on a sound post mounted within the body or on sound boards of the musical instrument. On the other hand, the resonance elements may be separate units mounted on the sound post or on the sound boards.

The lands and grooves of the resonance element are of the same geometrical configuration and arranged thereon in a geometrical pattern. By this arrangement, the resonance element will resonate with the vibrations of strings of the musical instrument and effect a finer tone colour and greater sound volume than can be obtained with conventional musical instruments.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art by reference to the following specification and drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the sound board of a piano showing the arrangement of the resonance elements of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmental view of the resonance element which is applied to the sound board shown in FIG. 1 and 'FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line III-III of FIG. 2.

in the drawing there is shown a resonance bar of the present invention, wherein two righthand threads of equal pitch and one lefthand thread are cut into an otherwise conventional sound bar. Thus, there i formed a plurality of diamond shaped lands 21, 22, 23. The configuration of the lands may be varied to have either a short or a long axis by changing the pitch and width of the threads. The number of threads may be increased to four, that is, two righthand threads and two lefthand threads, or any other combination not exceeding four. But, in my opinion, it seems that three threads ensure best stability in all respects and give favourable results.

A plurality of resonance bars 10' of this invention are arranged in parallel alignment between conventional resonance bars 19 on the sound board 20 of a piano. When resonance bars 10 are substituted for conventional resonance bars 19, the construction of the sound board becomes much simpler, and its effect is enhanced. In order to facilitate the bonding of resonance bars or elements 10 onto sound board 20, the resonance bars are preferably planed flat un one side, as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 shows a fragmentary front view of a bar 10' on the board 20, and FIG. 3 shows a sectional view taken on the line III III of FIG. 2.

The lands left standing on each resonance bar 10 constitute three rows each comprising a plurality of projections 21, 22, 23 respectively. The projections are each diamond shaped when viewed radially toward the axis of the bar. As best seen from FIG. 3, the three rows of projections are offset at about right angles relative to the longitudinal axis of the bar. The fourth side 24 of the resonance bar is substantially flat so that it may be secured to the flat face of the sound board 20-.

As best seen from FIG. 2, the projections 21, 22, 23 within the respective longitudinal rows are of uniform size and shape and uniformly spaced from each other. The resonance bar has a longitudinally continuous core so that the resonance bar may be considered to consist of a bar shaped core portion from which the diamond shaped lands 21, 22, 23 project transversely of the direction of elongation.

The helical grooves extending between the projections 21, 22, 23 are evident from the outlines of the several diamond shapes. These grooves circle the bar both clockwise and counterclockwise. The shape of the bar illustrated in FIG. 2 is arrived at by forming three helical grooves in its surface, two running clockwise, the other counterclockwise.

The resonance elements or bars fitted on the sound board of a piano, as shown in FIG. 1, may be used in place of the conventional sound bars. By provision of such resonance elements, both the sound Volume and the tone colour are strikingly improved.

In forming the resonance elements of the invention, separate pieces corresponding to the lands may be bonded on solid bars having a circular, semi-circular or elliptic section. When making sound bars of the above-mentioned type it is preferred to cut righthand and lefthand threads into the circumference of solid bars. The lands thus formed may be further shaped into any desirable configuration by cutting off some portions of the land to provide desired resonance elements.

The results of experiments made with the resonance elements of the invention will now be described:

(1) A resonance element was made from a cylindrical rod by cutting a single thread therein. The element was installed in a violincello along the longitudinal axis. The sound volume was much more increased than in the case of merely using a solid cylindrical bar.

(2) It is known that an element having a proper mass and composition when attached to a vibratory body, will control the vibration of the latter.

Depending upon this principle and the favorable results described sub (1) above, which were obtained by mere use of a resonance element along one axis and provided with a single thread, it was to be expected that an even greater improvement should be attainable if the thread arrangement is made more complex, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, with three threads, one turning from left to right and the other two from right to left. To test this principle, the resonance element was held at one end and the other end was tapped on a desk. Very delicate vibrations were observed by the naked eye and by touch while such vibrations could never be produced in a conventional solid body.

What is claimed is:

1. In a stringed musical instrument, in combination,

(a) sound board means;

(b) an elongated bar member secured to said sound board means; and

(c) a plurality of rows of substantially uniform projections on said bar member,

(1) the projections of each row being substantially uniformly spaced in the direction of elongation of said member, and freely projecting therefrom transversely of said direction,

(2) said projections jointly defining a plurality of helically extending grooves therebetween,

(3) at least one of said grooves extending about said bar member in a clockwise direction, and at least one other groove extending about said bar member in a counterclockwise direction from one longitudinal end of said bar member toward the other end.

2. In a stringed musical instrument as set forth in claim 1, said plurality of grooves not exceeding four grooves.

3. A sound board arrangement for a piano comprising, in combination:

(a) a board member having a flat face;

(1)) a plurality of elongated bar members secured to said face and longitudinally extending thereon; and

(c) a plurality of rows of substantially uniform projections on each bar member,

(1) the projections of each row being substantially uniformly spaced in the direction of elongation of said member, and freely projecting therefrom transversely of said direction;

(2) said projections jointly defining a plurality of helically extending grooves therebetween,

(3) at least one of said grooves extending about said bar member in a clockwise direction, and at least one other groove extending about said bar member in a counterclockwise direction from one longitudinal end of said bar member toward the other end.

4. A sound board arrangement as set forth in claim 3, wherein said bar members each have a longitudinally extending fiat face portion secured to said flat face of said board member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 320,264 Lornas June 16, 1885 605,942 White June 21, 1898 687,097 Wolfram Nov. 19, 1901 1,671,532 Lemansky et a1 May 29, 1928 1,680,180 Siegel Aug. 7, 1928 1,695,783 Stephenson Dec. 18, 1928 1,719,680 Warner July 2, 1929 2,162,595 Virzi June 13, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 111,217 Germany June 11, 1900 82,780 Austria Feb. 10, 1921 

1. IN A STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT, IN COMBINATION, (A) SOUND BOARD MEANS; (B) AN ELONGATED BAR MEMBER SECURED TO SAID SOUND BOARD MEANS; AND (C) A PLURALITY OF ROWS OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM PROJECTIONS ON SAID BAR MEMBER, (1) THE PROJECTIONS OF EACH ROW BEING SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORMLY SPACED IN THE DIRECTION OF ELONGATION OF SAID MEMBER, AND FREELY PROJECTING THEREFROM TRANSVERSELY OF SAID DIRECTION, (2) SAID PROJECTIONS JOINTLY DEFINING A PLURALITY OF HELICALLY EXTENDING GROOVES THEREBETWEEN, (3) AT LEAST ONE OF SAID GROOVES EXTENDING ABOUT SAID BAR MEMBER IN A CLOCKWISE DIRECTION, AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER GROOVE EXTENDING ABOUT SAID BAR MEMBER IN A COUNTERCLOCKWISE DIRECTION FROM ONE LONGITUDINAL END OF SAID BAR MEMBER TOWARD THE OTHER END. 